While beleaguered educators waited to see if furlough days and pay cuts were worked back into the final public schools budget, two local teachers packed up their No. 2 pencils and accepted lucrative overseas jobs.

Next year, when the rest of the Savannah-Chatham public school system's teachers return to larger class sizes, fewer resources, more state curriculum changes and demands for higher test scores, Benita Ramsey and Cassandra Collins will be working in state-of-the-art schools, earning six-figure salaries and receiving free housing, travel, and health insurance for the entire family.

"They make it worth your while," Collins said.

Collins and Ramsey, like thousands of other native English-speaking teachers, have taken jobs at schools in Abu Dhabi, the ultra-modern, uber-rich coastal capitol of United Arab Emirates. Before they were offered two-year contracts, they went through an extensive four-month interview and authentication

process with American International Development Council Inc., a Florida-based company specializing in international education consulting, training and teacher recruitment. Ramsey will teach fourth-grade English. Collins will work as a teacher coach.

The UAE is about the size of Maine and has only been a country since 1971, when sheikhs along the Persian Gulf coast united. Over the last 30 years the country has worked to make a name for itself with its tremendous wealth. In addition to building over-the-top tourist attractions to establish itself as a playground for wealthy internationals, the country is recruiting certified, English-speaking teachers as part of an education reform plan. Officials believe that will make them globally competitive and help establish their country as a leading international business player.

"Our first year we sent more than 400 teachers, last year we sent 1,000, and this year 1,000 more," said Nellie Amerie, owner of American International Development Council. "Because of all the layoffs a lot of people want to go overseas."

Collins and Ramsey both worked in Savannah-Chatham public schools for seven years. They had coveted jobs at Oglethorpe Charter School. Collins taught seventh-grade math and Ramsey taught sixth-grade English. Although they didn't have to deal with major behavioral issues at the small public charter school known for its strong academic program and heavily involved parents, they, like everyone else, were hit hard by the flailing U.S. economy.

They haven't had pay raises in three years and both had 140 students with no classroom aid.

"I went into teaching expecting to work hard," Ramsey said. "But lately it felt like I was working to exhaustion."

And both Collins and Ramsey have husbands who were laid off.

Collins' husband, a building contractor, went to work in the UAE 13 months ago after his company closed. She remained here with their two children, but after the long separation, three very expensive overseas trips, and no improvements in the housing market, she decided to look for work near her husband.

"It's a great opportunity," she said. "People told me I'd have to walk three steps behind my husband and cover my head, but it isn't like that. It's very westernized and multicultural."

In fact, of the 3.8 million people living in the country, 78 percent are from somewhere else. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, just 19 percent of residents are Emirati. Some 23 percent are Arab and Iranian, 50 percent are South Asian and 8 percent are western. Christians are allowed to hold religious services and women wear western fashions. Although they're required to show a healthy respect for the culture, religion and traditions, many foreigners go to the rich and rapidly growing country just to work, build wealth and leave.

Collins says she'll miss her American students.

"No one will yell, 'What about those Falcons?' when I come down the hall," she said. "And I won't be able to yell back, 'Who dat? What about those Saints?'"

Still, Collins, who spent 11 years in the military, believes she can stay for the entire 10-year reform effort.

"I have no reservations about going," she said. "I can live anywhere. My time here has been great and now it's time for me to move on to a different adventure in life."

But Ramsey, whose husband was laid off from a home improvement company after 15 years, doesn't think she'll stay beyond her two-year contract. She's calculated that she'll be able to save half her salary and be virtually debt-free in three to six months. She's even figured out how to get the live stream of Sunday worship services at Overcoming by Faith Church on her computer. When her two years are up, she can return to Georgia and her teaching license will still be valid for another year.

"I am coming back. I feel like Savannah is my home and this is just a pause," Ramsey said. "I'm going for the money, the travel and the culture I would never have otherwise experienced, because sometimes in life you have to take risks. Oglethorpe isn't going anywhere, but this opportunity may never come again."

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Congratulations on your new life adventures and yes, it will be different. I believe you will see a lot more respect from your students than you see here. Whether you stay 2 years or ten, this will be a time that you and your family will live and learn and experience a different culture.

you got it. When we stop educating and disciplining our children we can say good-bye to our way of life. Our time as top dog has come to an end simply due to financial cuts to education. Education should be top priority and recieve top funding. Education of OUR people. Not theirs.

I was so happy when I read the article today. It is about time to start taking changes and thinking out of the box. Not only will you be an educator where you are going, but you will also be receiving an education. This will give you more fuel to bring back to the U.S. and teach our children. And besides if you have no job in America, and are not making enough money to keep the roof over your head, you can not give all you have to give to the children you are in charge of. Go with God's blessings and return with the new found knowledge to pass on to our youth. You have made a great decission. I hope this encourages more unemployed and underemployed Americans to start thinking globally and passing it on to our youth.

The Republicans are killing this country, because they do not want to tax the people that can afford it the most, they just keep riding on the backs of the poor and the middle class! I am glad that these teacher are able to find work, but not at home! The USA is still the best country in the world, but we have too many people that haved closed minds and not a brain in their head to think for themselves!!

What is not taxing the rich more of their money got to do with this article about teachers going to Abu Dhabi. What is is that the rich paying about 80% of all taxes received from the federal Gov't that people don't understand. 50% of Americans pay no taxes and you want to take more of the rich's their money. As it is their money doesn't exactly sit in a shoe box a home. Their money is circulating throughout the banks and stock market and other monetary circulation making it possible for the middle class and small business owners to get loans etc. Leave the rich alone and instead take a chain saw to all the non essential gov't agencies that we can not afford.

It has been talked about by politicians and non politicians, books written about how to do it but no one in government is doing anything about it. If we did so, everyone would be paying taxes with no loop holes. No need for the IRS. If we did so there would be no need for arguments about how the rich should be paying more taxes because they would be. Being rich they have more purchasing power. This tired argument about the rich should be paying more taxes is getting old.

It continues to amaze me that the not particularly rich; the middle class and some poor, argue so much for the top 2 to 5%. They don't need your help since they already own a political party.

Upwards of 80% of this country's wealth is in the possession of the top 2 to 5% of the population yet as they sit back and enjoy the fruits from the labor of others that made them this wealth I am quite sure that they are amused on how some of the bottom dwellers, that would be most of us, fight so hard for them. Again, they own a party, they don't need your help and the system is tailored for them.

Just what political party do rich people own? And speaking of rich people, most of them became rich by their own investments and risks. I just don't understand what people mean when they say rich people got their wealth by others. Those "others" have jobs because some people who risked everything they owned to make an investment they believed in and worked hard at it to make it successful. Think of all the people who risked everything they own to invest in something that failed. It happens more than you think. Again, what political party do rich people own?

with GE paying absolutely no taxes. When I talk about the wealthy I'm referring to individuals who became wealthy through their own blood, sweat and tears. People who put their homes and everything they owned up for collateral to invest in something they believed in. But GE's Jeffery Imelt is Obama's fair haired boy. I don't know why GE pays no taxes nor do I know why Big Oil still receives tax subsidies. I have a problem with that too. That's another argument about the flat tax debate that is not happening.

The reason that private businesses are holding profits and not currently creating jobs (expanding their businesses) is because of the uncertainty of the economic landscape at present. The business owners (mostly small business owners who comprise the majority of our economy) see the uncertainty (how much are their taxes going to be, are consumers going to have money to purchase their product, how much are they going to have to contribute to health care, retirement, etc, etc, etc) as too much risk. They are the ones taking the risk, with their hard earned money. They are the ones who stand to lose if their business decisions are not economically sound. The most expensive costs to a business are the employees. When there is some certainty in the costs to do business, ie: decisions have been made about the debt limit, raising taxes (or not), spending cuts, health care, etc., perhaps business owners will consider the risk acceptable and begin to expand their businesses and add more jobs.

The first purpose for someone to start a small business is to make a living for themselves and their families. The success rate is low and the risk of losing everything you invest is high .

If they become successful the added benefit to society is increased jobs . If the business is not doing so well and unsure of the future the owners are not going risk their families and their livelyhood by keeping personal when they cannot afford to . It is not that owners want to let people go ,but it is a decision that has to be made to keep the business open. It is not easy being in business and the government makes it even harder especially for a small businesses.
I wish all small businesses great success ,because if they are successful that means they will have to hire more people.

You hit the nail on the head: re small business and even larger companies. And by the way No Moe, my husband and son are small business owners and we are not at pre recession levels. The housing market has not even bottomed out yet and their business either directly or indirectly is affected by the housing market. And Merv obviously knows nothing about the banking industry so I will no even address his insult.

The problem is that we are a complete service economy and do not manufacture much anymore. because of it, we rely on people to buy and spend so those magical pieces of paper float from person to person and from company to company. When large corporations and banks take that money out of circulation and stock pile it it hurts the economy. When large companies cut workers, cut workers hours, and create only part time positions that takes even more money out of play. When more and more money is taken out of play, prices rise as a result of inflation. This is the reason why companies have record profits, take GE last year they had a 77% increase in profits! Why, they are stockpiling money, and they didn't pay a nickel in federal taxes. Since 2007, this is exactly what large companies and now banks have done, taken money out of circulation. This has helped to kill the economy. So we either compete with the Chinese and go back to making things, we force companies to put the money back into circulation through taxes, or we give companies tax incentives to create jobs. We can't do the first one, and we already tried the third one.

I am one of the many teachers taking a job in Abu Dhabi. I am from Houston, Texas and have been an educator for ten years. I have a contract that I am resigning from this week. Let's see...all we have to pay for is transportation, utilities, and food. If I was taking my son, then it would cost a large amount of money for his education. Thank the Lord, he is 22! I will miss my country, family, and friends more than I want to think about. I will not miss being over worked and under paid!!! The bilinguial teachers did not lose their stipend of $4,000 and most of them are not Americans. Everyone keeps talking taxes...my thing is as an American, we need to take care of each other. If we did not give all our money away to birth, house, feed, and yes EDUCATE all the illegals in our country; we would be in much better shape. I worked in a school that was 99% hispanic and I love the children, but to hear the little ones say "we are having a baby so we can get more money" kills me! They do not know that they are telling someone who pays their bills. America does not own it's own land...we sell to the highest bidder! Go to Mexico and you can only own 49% of the property. Tell me that the Mexicans are not smarter than the Americans! Our system is broken!!! Another master teacher leaving America to better her life, and when I get back hoping that I feel better about "the land of the free".

We have the 2nd highest corporate taxes in the world!! And we wonder why companies are going oversees to manufacture. Corporate taxes plus the wages and benefits paid to union workers. Yes, there are tax breaks for certain things. We gave a tax break to companies for buying corporate jets in the stimulus package because the companies making corporate jets had their business decline in the recession and they have a good lobby in Washington. Then the president wants to take the tax break away from the companies that took advantage of the tax break and bought the jets. Large corporations do exactly what each of us do, take the tax code and use it to attempt to decrease our tax burden to as little as possible. They pay accountants big $ to do this. Our tax structure is broken. Whole segments of our economy are designed around taxes - avoiding them, collecting them, getting laws passed to decrease or increase them, paying them, etc. We need a paradigm shift with a new tax structure to reboot the whole system. Just imagine the massive changes that would occur if we switched from a production tax (income tax) to a consumption tax. The Fair Tax structure would do much more than make the tax system more "fair". It would totally change the way the country does business.

If it were not for the middle class and poor that "rich man", who creates jobs, would not be able to do so.

No middle class or poor person created the present financial mess this country is in.

And "Claude" I envy no one, wish everyone could be as fortunate as I am and as much as you like to imply you are. Because I have been an advocate for the poor doesn't mean that I am one. It's an easy concept to grasp there, "Claude".

Having "wealthy", "middle class" and "poor" is a function of our capitalist system of economics and our republic system of government. Other countries with other systems, don't have a "middle class" and some don't even have a "wealthy" outside of the government. the "poor" in the USA have a much higher standard of living than the "poor" in many other countries.
the different socioeconomic levels are not dependent on each other but on the system of government under which they exist. IMHO

This is a win-win situation for teachers who do not choose to leave Savannah. For example, I had the honor of working with both of these fine teachers while they were here and now I have the privilege of replacing one of them at OCS. Now if I could just convince them to send me a cut of that 6-figure paycheck. . .
Congratulations to both of you and keep in touch. We need to set up a Skype account so our students can talk to each other. What a great opportunity for multicultural education!